A Phaser Blast to the Present
by stars90
Summary: Sequel to A Phaser Blast From the Past. In the wake of PBFP, the Federation finds itself on the brink of war with the Romulan Empire. The Enterprise is ordered on a desperate and dangerous mission to try and head off the conflict before it begins. But the Romulans are determined to keep them from succeeding, and to stop them, they'll pull a dirty card from the Captain's past...
1. Chapter 1

Dr. Leonard McCoy sat in a chair in _Enterprise_'s mess hall, feeling both annoyed and (secretly) amused at the raucous source of amusement both his scowl and the statement which had caused it were providing to his dining companions. Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott was chortling over his plate of Haggis (the plate being the far more disturbing of the two sights to the doctor), while Lieutenant Nyota Uhura was gripping the table to keep from sliding off her chair in between her giggles. While he knew Commander Spock would rather jump into a live volcano than laugh out loud (the former being from painful experience), McCoy knew the Vulcan well enough to see the laughter in that blasted eyebrow.

"Don't go putting words in my mouth you pointy-eared hobgoblin!"

"I do not believe I took any such action, Doctor. Furthermore considering the non-physical nature of words I would find said action most difficult had I any desire to undertake it. I merely stated the comparison between your expressions upon learning of Captain Kirk's priority summons to Starfleet headquarters and the Ilvarian announcement of their intention to execute him."

"Yeah, well at least the Ilvarians were honest about it."

As Scotty and Uhura broke into another round of guffaws Spock simply regarded him with the eyebrow.

McCoy was saved from another scathingly logical retort by the whistle of the intercom.

"_Bridge to Spock._"

All four turned to look at the wall unit that sounded with the voice of Uhura's second, Carolyn Palmer. Spock rose to his feet and moved towards it.

"Spock here."

"_Mr. Spock, the Captain is on his way back from the surface. He's commed us with orders to get the ship ready for emergency departure."_

McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura looked at each other worriedly. An urgent summons to Starfleet command followed by emergency departure? That never meant anything good. Spock, as usual, was unflappable.

"Status of shore parties, Lieutenant?"

"_Most crewmen were already back onboard awaiting our new orders. Captain Kirk reported that he was rounding up the remainder of the shore party to return on his shuttle."_

"Issue emergency departure warnings to all departments and call all hands to stations. I am on my way to the bridge."

"_Acknowledged, sir."_

Spock turned and strode briskly out the door, his three friends on his heels.

* * *

McCoy stood on the bridge, watching the crew at their posts. After checking in with sickbay to ensure they had everything on hand, McCoy had come up to the bridge and was watching the controlled chaos as he awaited Jim's return.

It occurred to him that it was a good thing Sam had left the previous day. The last thing the Kirk brothers needed was for their time together to be interrupted prematurely without warning. Their two days together before Sam had had to return to Deneva had been a whirlwind of stories from their years apart. It wasn't anywhere near all the healing their relationship needed, but it was an excellent beginning. They'd parted with promises to talk when they could and for Jim to come meet Sam's wife and child at some point soon. McCoy had liked the effect the reconciliation had had on Jim- he could've sworn he could see one or two inches of the shadows under his friend's eyes receding.

_Speak of the devil. _McCoy snapped out of his reverie as the starboard side doors opened and Jim Kirk burst onto the bridge in a blaze of his own personal brand of type-A personality. Yet something was off. Kirk was usually a bundle of energy, but long experience allowed McCoy to read the agitation in his walk, in the way he put one foot in front of the other as though he was racing to keep ahead of something he couldn't outrun.

"Status, Mr. Spock."

"All stations ready for departure, Captain."

Kirk nodded to Spock's report as he passed him on his way to the command chair the Vulcan had just vacated. Rather than sitting down, though, Kirk remained standing next to the right arm of the chair and turned back to look at his communications officer.

"Lt. Uhura, Spacedock?"

The slim woman turned to answer the question. "Yard control signals ready, Captain."

McCoy could see something in Jim, in the way Jim seemed to stand a little straighter. There was another recent development in his friend's life Leonard was happy with. He'd long suspected there might be some deeper feelings there for the confident and beautiful communications specialist, but he didn't really want to butt in, especially given his own past experience with romance. But he had noticed the quiet strength his friend had drawn from her during the mess with his stepfather. He could see the almost imperceptible smile in his eyes whenever she walked into the room. The doctor just hoped it kept going.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Mr. Sulu," Kirk turned to the helm, "retract all moorings."

"Aye sir."

The long docking clamps tethering _Enterprise_ to Spacedock pulled away. Under Sulu's expert hand the majestic starship pulled away from the dock and slid smoothly into open space.

"We are free and clear to maneuver."

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu. Mr. Chekov, plot a course for the Azure nebula."

McCoy could see several spines straighten at the mention of their destination. He wondered what the hype was about. After all, he was a doctor, not a navigator.

"Course plotted, sir."

"Laid in, Captain."

"Warp 6, Mr. Sulu. Punch it."

On Kirk's order, _Enterprise _shot off into warp, leaving Earth far behind.

"All senior staff to the briefing room. Lt. Uhura, contact Mr. Scott to join us."

Five minutes later the senior officers were ensconced around the conference table, looking to their captain for answers.

"As you're all aware diplomatic talks have been ongoing with the Romulan Star Empire in order to settle the issue of our little tap dance with those birds of prey. Starfleet has just informed me that the talks appear to be breaking down. Command is anticipating an outbreak of hostilities sometime soon."

A stunned silence greeted Jim's announcement. The last Romulan war of a century earlier had been a veritable bloodbath. Nobody wanted to guess what a new conflict could inflict.

"Vhy now?" piped in Chekov.

Spock as usual jumped in to field the question. "As you may recall, Mr. Chekov, Starfleet operations and tactical readiness have been somewhat hindered by the separate actions of Nero, Admiral Marcus, and Khan. A Romulan attack at the current time will find them facing a weakened Starfleet."

Not a pretty thought at all….

"Exactly, Mr. Spock. Starfleet is doing its utmost to prepare for the upcoming conflict."

Jim's words did not sit well with Leonard at all. "Hang on a minute! You sound as though Starfleet has already decided this war is going to happen! There must be some hope to stop it!"

Jim turned to me with a weary smile that scared me right down to the bone.

"Hope, yes. One hope, in fact. And therein lies our mission. We are the one hope Starfleet sees as a realistic possibility for averting this conflict."

Whoa. No pressure. Now McCoy knew where the heaviness he'd seen in Jim had come from.

"With all respect to Starfleet, what is our destination that our mission could possibly effect such an outcome on a large Romulan war effort, sir?" came the question from Spock.

Jim regarded us with that spine tingling smile, the one that he used whenever he was getting to the punch line of a joke- usually at our expense.

"An old stomping ground of ours, Mr. Spock."

That smug little midget was enjoying this. Damn him.

"The Klingon homeworld."


	2. Chapter 2

Jim wasn't sure just what it said about his ship that having all of his senior officers looking at him as though he'd just sprouted a second head wearing Khan's face felt completely normal. Although, under the circumstances, he supposed he could understand it. Predictably, the first explosion came from McCoy.

"Starfleet's sending us back to Kronos! Are they out of their minds! Why would they want us to go there?"

"With the fleet in its current state we just don't have the firepower to hold off the full firepower of the Romulan fleet. Starfleet feels our only realistic option is to gain allies."

"And that means sending _you_ to talk to the Klingons!? How is that going to get us anything other than a dead Captain?"

"Actually Doctor, the decision to send Captain Kirk is logical. The Klingons will demand a full accounting of our actions during our previous mission to Kronos before they would even consider forming an alliance. Their code of honor would see our any representative other than Captain Kirk as an admission of our guilt. However, the logic by which Starfleet Command believes the Klingon Empire will accept any kind of alliance with the Federation escapes me."

"Under normal circumstances you'd be right, Spock. But Nero hit the Klingon Defense Force even harder than he hit Starfleet. We lost 11 ships, they lost 47. With the Romulans seeing Nero's attack as an opportunity to escalate their aggression, Starfleet feels this may be the best time to push the Klingons for peace, for both of our sakes."

"How are we going to get near the High Council?"

"Already taken care of, Mr. Sulu. Starfleet and the Diplomatic Corps have secured us an audience. The _Enterprise _will rendezvous with a Klingon Battle Cruiser at the Azure nebula. They'll escort us to Kronos. Once there, the ship will remain outside the system while a landing party proceeds to the planet via shuttlecraft."

"Shuttlecraft!? You mean you won't even have the _Enterprise _close by if something goes wrong!?"

"Mr. Scott, we'll be on the Klingon Homeworld, the most heavily fortified location within the Empire. If something were to go wrong, what exactly would having the _Enterprise _there accomplish?"

A heavy silence met Kirk's rebuke.

"The Klingons have guaranteed the _Enterprise _safe passage out of Klingon territory once our meeting is resolved."

"And you, sir?"

Kirk smiled sardonically. "That depends on the outcome of the meeting Mr. Sulu."

To Kirk's utter astonishment, nobody appeared particularly comforted by this nugget of wisdom.

"So our 'best chance' for preventing a war is for you to persuade the Klingon High Council that you didn't massacre their men right before you ask them to stand with the Federation against the Romulans?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

There was a pregnant pause before McCoy finished his statment.

"We are soooo dead."

* * *

The meeting had ended over six hours before. The _Enterprise _was cruising through space eight hours from its rendezvous at the Azure nebula. The silence of the starship's night shift seemed to mock Nyota Uhura as she made her way through the corridors. It was almost as though the ship itself was in mourning for her yet-to-be-dead Captain. As she entered the door of the forward observation deck, she longed for a break from the oppressive quiet. Fortunately, there was nobody in the universe better suited for staving off quiet than the person Uhura had come here looking for.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"What's up?"

She said nothing.

"Hey, don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Worry."

Her eyes flashed, and Jim winced. Not so much for the anger, he was used to that from her. But the fury wasn't enough to hold back the tears welling up in her rich brown eyes.

"How can you ask me that? You want me to just be fine with you just handing yourself off to the _Klingons_? After what happened with them before? It's going to take some fast talking just to get them not to kill you on sight, and even if you get past that there's no guarantee they won't just do it anyway later."

"Your pep-talks could use some work."

Far from making her laugh, this just horrified her to the point of making her look desperate. "Do you even care? Does it matter to you that the odds are pretty good you won't come back from this mission?"

Kirk turned to the window and stared out in silence. Horrified, Nyota recoiled and turned around to leave.

"More than before."

The words stopped her cold. She couldn't risk turning back, not yet, so she simply stayed where she was and turned her head slightly back towards him.

"What?"

Jim sighed. "I've gone on missions like this dozens of times. Ok, not like _this_…" he quickly interjected at Nyota's amused but teary stare, "but I'm no stranger to the likelihood of death. The prospect has never really bothered me. Not since…" He didn't finish. He didn't need to.

"But this time I'm having a little bit of a harder time dealing with the idea that if I don't come back from that planet I'm never going to see you again."

Uhura bit down on her bottom lip, hoping against hope that if she bit down just a little bit harder it might help her keep a tighter rein on her emotions for what was coming next.

"Well then it's a good thing you won't need to worry about that since I'm coming with you."

Jim turned his head to her sharply. "Excuse me."

Nyota just raised her eyebrow in a silent, "you heard me."

"Over my dead body."

"Yeah, I noticed that was what you were going for with this trip."

Kirk just glared.

"Jim, you took me on the last trip because I speak Klingon. I speak their language and I know their culture."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out."

"Well, that was done out of desperation. This time it'll be far more important. It's the whole basis of this mission."

"Nyota, if you come with me, I can't be sure that you're going to come back."

This earned him the patented Uhura 'either you think I'm dumb or you're patronizing me because I'm a woman and either one will get you in trouble' look. Kirk rolled over his misstep to make his point.

"I know you can handle that, I've never for one minute doubted it. It's my being able to handle it I'm worried about."

Uhura reached up to touch his cheek, trying to make it clear that she understood where he was coming from and still thought it was kind of sweet despite the fact that she was having none of it. "We agreed when we started this that it would never affect the job, and knowing you, I don't think that's how it's going to turn out. You've always been hyperaware of the safety of people going into danger with you, even when they were complete strangers. I'm not going to let you go down there with less of a chance of coming back because you're afraid. It's okay to be afraid. It's _natural_ to be afraid. Never really feeling fear for your own life is just one more effect those two damned men had on you. You're always more careful when there are others around you, you exercise more judgment. Well guess what buster, I want you back from that planet, and if I have to come with you to make sure that happens, that's what I'm going to do."

Kirk stared at her for several seconds, just stared and stared, his eyes wide as if he were something wondrous he'd never seen before which might disappear if he closed his eyes.

"Now that that's settled," Uhura went on, rolling right over any attempt he might make to object further, "do you actually have any sort of plan as to how you're going to convince the high council to ally with the Federation?"

"Um-" Jim started lamely, having been left behind in the dirt by the abrupt turn in the conversation but picking it up quickly, "I have a few thoughts, but nothing totally concrete just yet."

"Well then, run what you've got by me and let's see what we can come up with."

With that, Uhura turned and waked over to one of the couches in the center of the room. Jim reluctantly set his desire to argue the case further aside, knowing he would come back to it again later and knowing he would lose again, and plopped himself down on the couch next to her, and the two stayed like that for hours submerging themselves in the psyche of those into whose hands they were about to surrender their lives.

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	3. Chapter 3

Jim showed up on the bridge the next morning to find Spock, Bones and Uhura huddled around the communication station, talking softly. Alarm bells ringing, Jim strode over to the knot of people closest to him.

"Problem, people?"

The trio turned sharply, having been taken off guard by his approach. This had Jim's teeth further on edge. If whatever this was had Spock not detecting his approach, something serious must be up. The three looked at each other, obviously taking a silent vote on who was going to break whatever information they had to Jim. Apparently Spock won (or lost, depending on your perspective) for he began to speak.

"Perhaps this conversation is best had in private. "

Jim raised his arm and waved in the direction of the door leading off to the corridor containing, among other things, his ready room. The three officers followed him off the bridge and into his private office. Jim stopped in front of the desk and turned to face the three officers.

"Well?"

"We received a notification from Starfleet approximately 43 minutes ago, Captain. It appears Frank Garson suffered an unexpected heart attack last night. He did not survive."

Wow. That was… Wow. Jim didn't quite know how to feel about this. On the one hand, a universe without Frank in it was not by any means an unpleasant idea. On the other, there was a part of Jim, a part that he'd been struggling throughout his life to keep from being pushed to the background, somethiBothng he'd been having a little more success with in recent years, which felt distinctly uncomfortable at the idea of being happy at anyone's death. Even Frank's. It felt like an integral part of himself, as well as something which differentiated him from people like his stepfather.

He was aware of his friends looking at him, and seized on the first thing that made some kind of sense of his jumbled feelings, even if it wasn't necessarily exactly what he was thinking.

"Figures Frank would find a way out of paying his penance."

McCoy snorted. "Seems like the kind of guy he was. Listen, Jim, are you sure you want to do this so soon after-"

Jim brought up his hand to forestall the end of the question. "Bones, listen. This is not a question of what I want. This has to be done. Moreover, I'm not exactly devastated by this piece of news. It's a bit of a shock, but nothing too extreme."

Both the doctor and Uhura searched his face for a moment, before his features relaxed, seemingly satisfied that Jim wasn't just trying to placate him.

"Well, now that that's out of the way-"

"Bridge to Captain Kirk." Interrupted Sulu's voice.

Jim reached over to the intercom. "Go ahead, Mr. Sulu."

"We're approaching the Azure Nebula."

The four shared a look.

"Take us out of warp. We're on our way."

The four friends strode out and down the hall to the bridge.

"Report," Jim called out as they each headed for their posts, the doctor taking up his customary position behind and to the right of the Captain's chair. Chekov spoke up to field his question.

"Ve're holding position tventy million kilometers from the perimeter of the nebula, sir. Sensors are reading von other wessel thirty thousand kilometers to port. It is a Klingon D-7 class Battlecruiser."

"Tactical status?"

Carol spoke up from her sensor station. "They have their shields raised and a weapons lock on us, but they haven't armed their disruptors."

Jim nodded, having expected as much. "Alright, Chekov keep our own shields up. Uhura, hailing frequency."

A pair of 'Aye, sir's later a scowling Klingon visage appeared on the viewscreen.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the _Starship Enterprise_ representing the United Federation of Planets."

"I am Captain Kang of the Klingon Warship _Muk'tong_. We are here to escort you through our territory per the agreement between our governments. You will make no attempt to arm weapons. If you do, we will destroy you."

With that pronouncement Kang's face vanished to be replaced with the image of the dagger-shaped warship turning, waiting for _Enterprise _toproceed in front of them.

"Friendly as ever," McCoy commented wryly.

Jim snorted. "Carol, keep an eye on their weapons systems, make sure they don't get trigger happy. Mr. Chekov, lay in a course for Qo'nos."

"Course plotted, Keptin."

"Warp 6, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, Captain."

Sulu's hand grasped the lever on the left side of his helm console and slid it forward. The stars on the screen blurred as the _Enterprise _shot forward, headed for one of the deadliest stars she knew.

* * *

Less than hour later, the _Enterprise _and the _Muk'tong _dropped out of warp near the Qo'nos system's Oort Cloud to meet a pair of Birds-of-Prey.

"I'm guessing those are our escort."

"Most likely, Captain."

Jim raised himself out of his command chair and turned to Spock.

"The ship is yours, Mr. Spock. No matter what happens down there, you keep the _Enterprise _outside the system. If she crosses the boundary the agreement guaranteeing safe passage is null and void. The ship is your priority, Mr. Spock, not us, is that clear?"

"Perfectly, Captain."

Jim gave a wan smile. "Good." He gave a quick look around the bridge before settling his gaze on Uhura.

"Lieutenant, you're with me."

"Aye, sir." As the two headed for the starboard side doors leading off the bridge McCoy called them back.

"Jim."

The two turned just in front of the opening doors.

"Be careful."

The two men locked eyes for a couple of seconds before Jim gave a tiny nod and turned away. Bones caught Nyota's eye before she could turn and sent a silent message through his eyes.

_Take care of him._

Acknowledging the message with a slow blink, Uhura turned and set off to follow her Captain into the Lion's den.

* * *

Commander Al'tara stood in the dark lighting of his bridge, projecting an aura of calm anticipation for his crew at the surrounding stations. His first officer, Subcommander Sortal, turned away from the communication station and came over to him, opening as per protocol with the traditional hand-over-chest salute of the Romulan military.

"Commander, we have received a message from the contact. _Enterprise_'s shuttle has just left for Qo'nos."

The commander gave a predatory smile. "So, the time draws near. Soon, we shall have the 2 largest impediments to Romulan expansion by the throats. That is," the commander amended, turning to the shape of their special guest standing off in the shadows at the back of the bridge, "if you are truly capable of delivering that which you promise."

The low lighting rendered it difficult to make out the facial expression of their guest, but Al'tara had the distinct impression the man was smirking.

"Don't worry, Commander. I will be able to get you the information you require, if you provide me with what I want."

Al'tara kept his expression blank, although he found it difficult to keep from rolling his eyes.

_Are all humans so obsessed with stating the obvious?_

"And besides," the guest went on, and this time Al'tara _knew _he was smiling, the smile he himself was wearing, that of a predator regarding his prey.

"I'm looking forward to seeing James Kirk again."

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